Bromine is a secret ingredient in the recipe for animal life. The element is necessary for helping cells in multicellular animals stick together, researchers report in the June 5 Cell.

Previously, scientists knew that animals had bromine in their bodies, but researchers could find no biological use for it.

“The bottom line is of 92 naturally occurring elements, 27 are essential for the animal kingdom,” says Billy Hudson, a biochemist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville who led the work. At least, that was the number before the new study. “Now there are 28.”

Hudson’s team found that Drosophila melanogasterfruit flies need bromine to live. The researchers also provided insight into why bromine is essential for all animals, says Kevin Campbell, a membrane biologist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Bromide ions, negatively charged

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